Kurdistan Sets 20 August Date for Presidential Election

Kurdish President Masoud Barzani has set 20 August date for the Kurdish region’s presidential election, KRG Presidency chief of staff Fuad Hussein announced today. Barzani has called for free and fair election in Kurdistan, Hussein said. (USA Today, 13 June)

File photo: Kurdish President Masoud Barzani (Oren Dorell/USA Today)

Coalition against Islamic State Faces Long War – Kurdish PM

Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that despite recent victories in the war against ISIL, the global coalition fighting the group could face a long war. Barzani added there was little chance of defeating the insurgents so long as the civil war rages in Syria, Iraq’s army continues to exist more on paper than on the ground, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq remain woefully under-armed.

“This is a long war. They control more than 15 million people in Iraq and Syria,” said Barzani. “Islamic State has now been contained and controlled but it is still able to carry attacks.” (Reuters, 29 January)

Meanwhile, a senior Kurdish commander was killed in Kirkuk on Friday during a major attack by ISIL. The assault on areas south and west of Kirkuk began at around midnight that was still ongoing Friday morning.

Peshmerga Brig. Gen. Shirko Rauf and fine other members of the Kurdish security forces were killed in clashes, and nearly 50 injured. The Kirkuk security officials announced a curfew beginning 10:00 am (0700 GMT) on Friday, saying it will be in effect until further notice. (Reuters, 30 January)

File photo: Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani speaking at the Iraq-Kurdistan Oil and Gas Conference; Erbil. December 2013 (Azad Lashkari/Reuters)

CENTCOM Commander Visiting Baghdad and Erbil

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander General Lloyd Austin today visited Baghdad and Erbil and held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi and Kurdish President Massoud Barzani.

Kurdish news agency Rudaw said President Barzani and Gen. Austin discussed latest developments in the fight against the Islamic State and the growing number of refugees in Kurdistan.

Iraqi News said that Gen. Austin and Prime Minister-designate Abadi discussed the security situation in Iraq and the region.

“Dr. Al-Abadi stressed the importance of security cooperation between Iraq and the United States,” said a statement issued by the office of the PM-designate. (IraqiNews.com, 27 August)

Top photo: CENTCOM Commander General Lloyd Austin (center left ) and his delegation meeting with Kurdish President Massoud Barzani (center right) and the Kurdish delegation. Erbil, 27 August 2014 (Rudaw)

Bottom photo: General Lloyd Austin (l.) meeting with Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi. Baghdad, 27 August 2014 (IraqNews.com)

Kurds Boycott Iraqi Cabinet Meetings

After Maliki Blames Kurds for Advances by ‘Islamic State’

The Kurds today announced that they will boycott Iraqi cabinet meetings and called on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to step down after Maliki accused the Kurds of harboring the “Islamic State” militants who have overrun much of the country. The prime minister provided no evidence, and the Kurds denied the allegations.

Deputy Prime Minister Roz Nouri Shawez, the highest-level Kurdish official in the government, told reporters Thursday “such statements (by Maliki) are meant to hide the big security fiasco by blaming others, and we announce our boycott of Cabinet meetings.” (AP, 10 July)

Kurds also hold the Cabinet posts for foreign affairs, trade, health and immigration and displacement.
The move underlines the deepening split between al-Maliki and the Kurds.

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said Maliki “has become hysterical and has lost his balance.”

“He is doing everything he can to justify his failures and put the blame on others for these failures,” the Kurdish presidency said in a statement posted on its website late Wednesday. It accused Maliki of destroying the country, and demanded that he steps down. (AP, 10 July)

Maliki’s rivals and some former allies accuse the prime minister of helping fuel the current crisis by failing to promote reconciliation with the country's minority Sunnis.

File Photo: Iraqi Cabinet Meeting chaired by Maliki in May 2014. (PMO.iq/rudaw.net)

Barzani: U.S., Turkey Will Not Block Kurdish Independence

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said in an interview today with German daily Die Welt that the United States and Turkey will not block Kurdish independence from Iraq.

“I do not expect active assistance or resistance [from the U.S. or Turkey],” said Barzani. (Die Welt/Rudaw, 6 July)

Barzani has already called on the Kurdish Parliament in Erbil to fix a date for a referendum on independence.

“People can only live together voluntarily, not under compulsion,” Barzani told the German daily. “Not long ago, talking about the independence of Kurdistan would could have landed you in jail. Independence is the natural right of every nation,” he added.

Barzani said that the Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq has become a safe haven for other communities fleeing the violence: “Thousands have fled, especially Christians. Where ISIL establishes a Caliphate, their lives are in danger. We protect our minorities against these terrorists.”

File photo: Kurdish President Massoud Barzani. (AFP/Getty Images/CNN)

Barzani: Proceeding with Referendum on Independence

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani told Kurdish regional parliament in Erbil today that the Kurds have the international support for independence and called for a referendum to decide the future of Kurdistan.

“I ask for your assistance to set a date (for referendum),” Barzani said. “We have international support for independence, and those who do not support us do not oppose us,” he added. (Rudaw, 3 July)

Barzani also said that the Kurds have no plans to relinquish control of Kirkuk and other disputed areas.
“The Peshmerga forces will not pull out from Kirkuk and the disputed areas,” Barzani declared.

The creation of an independent state has long been the dream of Kurds, who were first promised a referendum on statehood in 1920. Following the establishment of a no-fly zone in 1991, the KRG enjoyed de facto independence before joining the government in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam.

Barzani’s chief of staff, Faud Hossein, told a gathering at the Washington Institute on Wednesday that Kurdish independence could take the form of a confederation of independent Kurdish and Iraqi states if Baghdad could re-establish its sovereignty over Sunni areas now under the control of the Islamic State.

KRG’s foreign relations chief, speaking at the same event in Washington, said having a referendum on independence passed by the people in Kurdistan does not mean that the Kurdish government will implement it immediately.

“We want to show our friends that we have done everything to help the political process in Iraq,” said Falah Mustafa Bakir, KRG’s head of foreign relations department. Only if it doesn’t work out, he said, will the Kurds opt for independence.

“Having a referendum doesn’t mean we are going to implement the result directly,” Hussein added. “That depends on the situation and negotiations with other countries. But the Kurdish people have the right of self-determination and one day we will implement that right.”

However, Barzani in his address to the parliament today did not set any such conditions if the referendum is passed. He was calling for the independence of Kurdistan.

File photo: Kurdish President Massoud Barzani (AFP)

Israel's friend in Erbil

Citadel of Hewlêr (Erbil), Iraqi Kurdistan

Iran's Foreign Ministry recently criticized the Kurdish president for calling for an independent Kurdish state in Iraqi Kurdistan. Israel's premier Benjamin Netanyahu on the other hand endorsed the idea.

Turkey is also against the idea. It has made a historic move in May when it began to export independently oil from Iraqi Kurdistan to international markets. A move that deeply frustrated Nouri al-Maliki's government in Baghdad.

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc downplayed Israeli Prime Ministers call for an independent Kurdish state when he said, "There is no doubt that Netanyahu represents his government … but the fact that he made this comment does not mean that it is going to come true. There is a state in Iraq with its constitution."

Wadie Abu Nassar a former Israeli political science lecturer explained the reasoning behind Netanyahu's support of Kurdish independence. He said it's "an attempt by Netanyahu to deliver the message that Israel is able to play in the backyards of regional powerhouses Turkey and Iran."

Israel has long had relations with the Barzani clan in Iraqi Kurdistan who they supported in the 1960's and 1970's when the Iraqi Kurds were fighting against the Baath in Baghdad. They were betrayed when the last Shah of Iran opted to stop the support him and the United States were giving to the Kurdish fighters they had helped to fight the Baath in order for him to make a deal with Iraq over the border disputes they would later fight a brutal war over.

Abu Nassar points out that Israel was unable to strengthen these connections with the Kurds to make a strong strategic alliance when Iraq was ruled by Saddam Hussein. "But after the 2003 US occupation," he reminds us, "the Americans seemed to have indirectly contributed to strengthening relations between Israel and the Kurds of northern Iraq. Since then, we have been hearing about commercial and security relations between Israel and the Kurdish region."

Nassar also makes clear that an independent Kurdish state in Iraqi Kurdistan will eventually "also demand the inclusion of other parts of Syria, Iran and Turkey." (Middle East Eye, June 30 2014)

Iran Criticize Barzani’s Call on Kurdish Independence

Iranian Foreign Ministry today criticized Kurdish President Massoud Barzani for calling for the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan. Marzieh Afkham, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, did not say however what Iran would do if Erbil seeks independence.

The Kurds took full control of the oil-rich Kirkuk during the current Iraqi crisis, making a future Kurdish state economically viable and independent from Baghdad.

The KRG’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani met with senior Iranian officials on 16 June in Tehran. The Iranian urged the Kurds to support the central government in Baghdad. On 25 June, however, the Kurdish president made the now-famous statement on Kurdish self-determination. On 26 June, Nechirvan Barzani led a senior Kurdish delegation on a visit to Turkey. The delegation, including the governor of Kirkuk, held talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
 
“We expect to be able to export 1 million bpd by the end of next year, including crude from Kirkuk,” said Kurdish minister of natural resource Ashti Hawrami. (Reuters/ekurd, 25 June)

File photo: Kurdish flag

Barzani Calls for Kurdish Independence

In CNN Exclusive Interview 

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Monday gave his strongest-ever indication that Iraqi Kurdistan would see formal independence from the rest of Iraq. (Please see the video of the interview below)

“Iraq is obviously falling apart,” Barzani said. “And it’s obvious that the federal or central government has lost control over everything. Everything is collapsing – the army, the troops, the police.”

“We did not cause the collapse of Iraq. It is others who did. And we cannot remain hostages for the unknown.

“The time is here for the Kurdistan people to determine their future and the decision of the people is what we are going to uphold

“Now we are living [in] a new Iraq, which is different completely from the Iraq that we always knew, the Iraq that we lived in ten days or two weeks ago.”

“After the recent events in Iraq, it has been proved that the Kurdish people should seize the opportunity now – the Kurdistan people should now determine their future.

“I will ask him, ‘How long shall the Kurdish people remain like this?’ The Kurdish people is the one who is supposed to determine their destiny and no one else,” Barzani said.

Barzani also called on Maliki to step down.

“(The) situation has been very complicated. And the one who’s responsible for what happened must step down.”

Amanpour asked if Barzani meant Prime Minister al-Maliki.

“Of course. He is the general commander of the army. He builds the army on the ground of personal loyalty to him, not loyalty to the whole country. And he monopolizes authority and power. He led the military, and this is the result,” Barzani said.

The Peshmerga have recently taken control of Kirkuk, and this is what Barzani said on that issue.

“We never had any doubt at any time that Kirkuk is part of Kurdistan.

“For the last ten years, we have been waiting to have (the constitutional) article applied (to determine Kirkuk’s future), but we haven’t seen any seriousness from the central government. And since we have new developments in Iraq now, this is what brought about the new situation with Kirkuk coming back to Kurdistan.

“We haven’t done this referendum yet, but we will do and we will respect the opinion of the citizens even if they refuse to have Kurdistan as an independent state,” Barzani said.

Source: CNN.
Photo: Kurdish President Massoud Barzani during the interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. (AFP/Getty Images/CNN)
Video: YouTube

Barzani and Erdogan Lead Historic Mass Rally in Turkey

Rapidly Growing Kurdish-Turkish Relations

 

Kurdish President Masoud Barzani today joined Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Diyarbakir, one of the largest Kurdish towns in southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey, to address a huge public rally by the Kurdish population in support of Turkish-Kurdish peace process.

“My request from my Kurdish and Turkish brothers is to support the peace project. I want to tell them that we support the peace process with all our force,” Barzani told the historic public gathering. (Hurriyet Daily News, 16 November)

“The time in the Middle East for living together has come. We can carry our people to happier days if we follow the methods of living together. Wars have been tried. The days when the blood of a young Turkish man was spilled by a Kurdish youth or the blood of a young Kurdish man was spilled by a Turkish youth are over,” Barzani added. 

Barzani, with Erdogan standing next to him, finished his speech by saying in Turkish, “Long Live Turkish and Kurdish Brotherhood! Long Live Peace! Long Live Freedom!”

On his part, Erdogan for the first time ever pronounced the word “Kurdistan” as he greeted the people “of the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.”

“We will witness a new Turkey where those in the mountains come down, the prisons empty and the 76 million [citizens of Turkey] become one,” Erdogan said, hinting to a general amnesty. “In Diyarbakir, the city of brotherhood, we are brothers from time immemorial. We are not fellow travelers, we also share the same faith,” he added. (Hurriyet Daily News, 16 November)

The rapidly growing relationship between Barzani’s government in Iraqi Kurdistan and the Turkish government, and the Turkish-Kurdish peace process within Turkey, are the political manifestations of long-term economic and energy agreements between the two governments.

The Turks are building a game-changing pipeline from the oil-rich region of Iraqi Kurdistan directly to Turkish oil terminal and refineries. When completed next year, the Kurds would sell their oil directly to energy-starving Turkey, making them even more independent from Baghdad, with Turkey being guaranteed a stable supply of oil through the pipeline, the least expensive method of importing oil.  

Photo credit: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and the President of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Masoud Barzani (C) greet the crowd during a mass opening ceremony in Diyarbakir; 16 November 2013 (AA/Hurriyet)

First Kurdish National Congress to be Held in Erbil

600 delegates of Kurdish political parties from Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey, as well as Kurds living in exile, will meet 15 to 17 September in Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan region, in an effort to improve relations.

The First Kurdish National Congress in Erbil is “the dream of all Kurds everywhere and is going to bring us closer as parties across the region”, said Salih Muslim leader of the Syrian Kurds’ Democratic Union Party. (RFRL, 7 September)

Photo credit: Kurdish Region President Massoud Barzani (center) met with representatives Kurdish political parties in August 2013 to prepare the agenda for Kurdish National Congress. (Shafaq News)